One of the most consequential results of the digital revolution has been the shift in the locus of power from large institutions to individuals.

Structural Tensions and Synergies in the New Digital Environment
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Tuesday, July 9, 2013

8:45 a.m. – 10:15 a.m. Session I. Shifts and Drivers of the New Organizational Environment
The Roundtable begins with a review of the broad technological, economic and socio-political shifts affecting organizations today. For example, the digital revolution, broad economic liberalization, and an environment of increasing user empowerment are affecting how organizations think about their environments. Scalable efficiency as an organizing principle may be giving way to scalable learning. What are the key shifts taking place today and in the foreseeable future? What are the key drivers for organizations as they tackle the problems and issues ahead of them?

10:45 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. Session II. Structural Trends: Concentration and Fragmentation
The trends in business towards concentration, on the one hand, and fragmentation, on the other, might seem contradictory. But are they? Why are the drivers, arrived at in Session I, driving organizations one way or the other? How can these seemingly contradictory forces be reconciled?

2:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. Session III. New Organizational Functions for the New Economy
When forces become fragmented or concentrated, it is useful to breakdown the functions that the organization utilizes. “What business am I in” is changing to “what ecosystem(s) am I in?” What are the new roles that organizations play in a world of agenting, orchestrating, and platforms?

Wednesday, July 10, 2013

8:45 a.m. – 10:15 a.m. Session IV. Creating Synergies within the Emerging Digital Environment
In a world of increasingly concentrated and fragmenting organizations, how does an organization best manage or navigate within its ecosystem? How can it utilize its talent, and talents, to scale with agility? What structures most enable emergent players and agents in highly distributed systems to learn and work? Are there principles for reconciling the structural trends facing the future organization?

10:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Session V. Leadership Issues and Actions
To conclude the Roundtable, participants will address leadership issues as organizations deal with disruption and change. What can the leader do to make the right decisions now to prepare the organization and its talent for the days ahead? What social impact can these decisions have? Are there outstanding governmental policy decisions that can foster a better environment for the organization of tomorrow and its many parts?